Sheet-conveying apparatus



c. A. uPsoN 1,778,095

SHEET CONVEYING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 6, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet l IH|||.|.||.||H||H|||||..||I| n@n\. Tliilllil. m, n m

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Oct. 14, 1930. Q, A, UPSON SHEET CONVEYING 15P/mulls Filed Sept. 6, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ZLSATT raffinati i4, ieee S'lA'l'ESv PATENT OFFECE.

CHARLES A.. kUPSON7 OFLOCKPORT, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO THF, UPSON COMPANY,

OF LOCKPOBT, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION 0F NEW YORK SHEET-CONVEYING APPARATUs Application led September 6, 1928. Serial No. 304,347.

' My present invention relates to the manufacture and handling vof sheets, boards, slabs and similar stock and particularly to the processing or treatment thereof wherein, in

- order to'conserve space, the stock is conveyed back and forth in reverse directions between decks or levels arranged one above the other and it has for its object to provide a simple, convenient and efficient means for transferring the sheets or similar articles rapidly andgsafely from one deck to another. My improvements kare directed particularly to means whereby a sheet is-quickly transferred 'i .from an upper deck to the devices that carry n 15 it to the lower deck so that it will be reversed in direction in time to prevent succeeding sheets from interfering with its progress.

'- To these and other ends the invention resides in certain improvements and combinations of parts,all as will be hereinafter more fully described, the novel features being pointed out in the claims at the end of the specification.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a side elevation Vof a lwallboard making and processing machine in connectionwith which useful `application of my in* vention may be made, the View being a frag! mentary one of the front end of the machine Fig. 2 is asimilar fragmentary view of the intermediate portion Vof the machine; 'Y

i Fig. 3 is a similar fragmentary yview of the delivery end of the machine;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary longitudinal section through a portion ofthe dr.ying oven of the machine shown in elevation in 3,the same beinggfitted with a conveyor and transfer means constructed in `ac-.

cordance with and illustrating one embodi` ment Vof my invention; f y

Fig.v y5 isY an enlarged detailed transverse section taken on the line-5 5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary section through certain driving mechanism taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 4; and Fig. 7l is a similar enlarged detail taken in section on the line 7-7 of Fig.i4.

Similar; reference numerals throughout the several viewsl indicate the same parts.

My presentv improvement may he utilized to advantage in connection with a machine for the manufact-ure of sheets or slabs such as is used as a building material, the outer faces thereof consisting of two paper liners enclosing between them a considerable body of mineral material. It is of no great concern herein as to what this material beyond saying that it is a plastic mass which is fed between the liners while they are continuously moving. The liners referred to may be drawn from suitable supply rolls l and 9,

and receive the plastic material between them I from a hopper 3 as they pass around between rollers 4 arranged beneath the hopper. From these rollers the sheet is subjected to heat and pressure by passing through a long hed and between upper and lower heated lplatens 6 and 7. Emerging from the rear Aend of this platen sect-ion at 8, the strip is trimmed and slit at 9 and 10 and thence passes into a hardening oven 11 where; it is partialtx,Y dried and hardened or set sufficiently to pass between a set of drawing or feed rolls i2 which would otherwise injure it and which i are located near the rear end of this hardenlng oven. The entire strip is drawn through the entire machine as thus fail described by these drawing rolls andpushed by the latter upon what we will term the upper deck i3 of a long drying oven i4 that extends back beneath the hardening oven li and part of 'the platen bed 5-6 as shown. On thisupper deck'l3 which is conventionaily shown in Fig. 3 the strip is cut int-o separate sheets byy a suitable severing device 15 and from saA thence travels in the manner hereinafter described as successive separate sheets.

Both the hardening oven 11 and the drying oven 14 are supplied with and heated by. hot air or other gases which are introduced and discharged through variousducts 16 but an y fer points that are' required for the shifting of the stock successively downward are indlcated generally at A and 'B in the general fviews, whereas the delivery point at which itemerges as a finished product is indicated l at C. The present invention, as before in dicated, has to do with these transfer mechanisms and as they may be of the same con struction at both of the'points A. and B they are shown in detail only at Aas a dest-ription of one will suflice for both.

In Fig. Zl a sheet or alength of wallhoard stock is shown on-the upper deck 13 at l) about to be delivered to transfer mechanism. This deck and the two lower decks 16 and 1Q" are composed inthe present instance of a plurality of spaced parallel rolls 18 all driven in unison in the respective directions shown by the arrows at what we will call oven speed.

j The driving gear consists of sprockets 19 on neath and beyond the lower end of tho trans# the ends of the rolls with which mesh sprocket chains 20 driven from a suitable source of power. The upper or feeding :deck 13 terminates in an inc-lined transfer element indi cated'generally at 2l, which element also comprises a plurality of rollers 22 provided with sprockets 23` and driven by sprocket chains 24; suitably geared to turn these rolls at oven speed also. rlhe element 21 is inclined downwardly and rearwardly in the direction of the transfer element 25 that is inclined down-y wardly and forwardly and passes under the rear or llower end of the element 21 and loads fer element 21 from 'the point a forwardly are driven independently through sprockets 27 kand s rocket chains 28 at greater speed than all of the other rolls orvv at greater than oven speed for which purpose a sprocket 29 is fined to the shaft of one of the deck rolls 16 and drives one of the group of rolls 26 through a sprocket chain 30 and a small sprocket 31 on the shaft of that last mentioned roll. The purpose of this is as follows:

With all of theconveyor rolls moving in the directions indicated by the arrows, with the exception of the independently driven group 26 on the transfer element 25, the board or stop sheet D passes from the deck 13 down the inclined transfer element 21 and is shoved out rearwardly to its full length on to the transfer roller 26 of the element 25. ln doing so it momentarily avoids the group of rollers which are rotating at a greater speed Vin a reverse direction and Contact and rides upon a group of idler rollers 32 at the far upper end of the transfer element 25, which rollers have intervening guide plates or deflectors'33 to prevent the board at its advancing edge from becoming locked` against or beneath them. lVhen the board has fully left the driven rolls of the upperV sumes a rate of travel the same as the follow` ing ysheets that are belng fed from the making machineand the sheets ahead that have been reversed again by the similar mecha" nisms at D and are travellingthrough the oven toward the delivery point C. The work,- ing of the machine is thus made as rapid as possible and the sheets'are so close together that the full capacity of the drying oven 1s utilized.

It is best thatthe 'work pieces D'after being projected through the transfer incline21 of deck. 13 to the reverse transverse incline 25 of deck 16 on to the idle rolls y32 should be expedited as far'as possible in falling also jointly upon the reversing speed rolls 26. ln

other words, it is important that the rear edge' of thel sheetl of board should pass abruptly from transfer 21-to transfer 25. To effect this7 l provide a' roller 34C intermediatelyl of the last roll 22 ofthe transfer'21 and the adjacent roll 27 of the lower transfer 2.5 between which two rolls there runs a rubber or similar apron 35 which may be. continuous from side to side of the machine or maybe divided'into a plurality of spaced narrow belts as shown. With this construction it will be seen that as the rear edge of the sheetD leaves the last roller 22 ofthe uppertransfer it will pass on to this belt or belts and have a continuous propelling contact therewith in the proper direction until they sheet yfalls squarely upon the lower transfer to beinstantly propelled by thespeed rollers 26. of the latter. The result is that there is practically no pause between the movement of the sheet D in first one direction and then the ot-her as it passes between the transfers and a succession of sheets may follow one another rapidly without interference.

claim as my inventionz' l. In a sheet processing machine for the continuous running of severed sheets of walllooard and similar stock, the combination with upper and lower superposed and substantially co-eXtensive decks for carrying the stock in reverse directions, of upper and lower transfers communicating with the respective decks, and means associated with the delivery end of the upper transfer for positively conveying a sheet of stock down upon the lower transfer.

2. In a sheet processing machine for the continuous running of severed sheets of wall.

board and similar stock, the combination with upper and lower decks for carrying the stock in reverse directions, of upper and lower transfers communicating with the respective decks, said transfers each comprising a plurality of driven rolls, and means associated with the delivery end of the upper transfer for positively conveying the rearward edge of a sheet of stock down upon the lower transfer, said means comprising a roll arranged adjacent to the lower transfer and a belt travelling on said roll and over the roll at the delivery end of the upper transfer.

CHARLES A. UPSON. 

